Method of increasing the efficiency of internal-combustion motors.



K. DE LONY. METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29, l lfi- Patented Jan.

3 S H E E T 8-8 @Muawilo'p End 0242 L (Wu K. DE LONY.

G THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNAL comsusnom MOTORS.

METHOD or INCREASIN 1 I APPUCATION HLED OCT. 29. 1915- 1 219 9 11 Patented Jan. 16,1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- K DE LONY.

METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNAL CGMBUSTIOII MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29 I9I5.

1 12,917. Patented m. 16,1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

' cycle type during a working ill KNUD DE L'UNY, 0F BItIDGEYORT, CG'NNECTICUT, ASSIG'NOR TO JOHELNNES SCHIOTT, OI!

FARMS, CONNECTICUT.

METHOD OF INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNAL-CU1VIBUSTION MUTOI-LS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, KNUD on LONY, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at the city of Bridgeport, county of Fairlield, State of Connecticut, United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods oi Increasing the Eiiiciency of Internal-Combustion Motors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in and relating to internal combustion motors and has for its object to increase the efficiency of the motor by utilizing the heat in a cylinder which heat is usually wasted by the exhaust and cooling of the products of combustion.

In the accompanying; drawing Figure 1 is a theoretical indicator diagram of a motor of the Diesel type during; a working stroke when ny invention is utilized, the ordinate of'the part of the pressure curve which runs parallel with the abscissa axis being deten mined by the pressure of the air forced into the cylinder. Fig. 2 illustrates the corresponding indicator diagram for the compressor. Fig. 3 is a View, similar to Fig. 1, of an internal combustion motor oi the four stroke with my invention applied. Fig. 4 illustrates the indicator diagram for an expansion cylinder with four times the volume of the combustion cylinder. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View in elevation of a four cylinder tour cycle internal combustion .motor showing the application of my improvement. Fig. 6 is a plan View of the construction shown at Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view in elevation, with a projected theoretical indicator diagram, of a cylinder and working piston such as may be utilized'when the whole expansion takes place in the combustion cylinder.

- Similar numerals or reference denote like,

parts in the several figures of the drawing.

My intention, broadly speaking, consists in forcing or introducing into a cylinder, during a working stroke of the piston and after combustion is completed, compressed air or other gaseous mixture of alower temperature than that of the gases then expand ing within the cylinder.

l Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 29, 1915.

Patented Jan, 116, Jfiifii. Serial No. 58,616.

The comparatively cool air or other gaseous mixture is immediately heated by the expanding gases and continuously supplies the deficiencies in pressure within the cylinders during the working stroke of the piston, or, in other words, acts to automatically maintain the expansion curve at constant pressure during that part of the working stroke of the piston which follows immediately after the initial introduction of such air or gaseous mixture.

The obtainable energy within the cylinders depends largely upon the diilerenc'e in temperatures between the expanding gas and the air that is forced into the cylinders, and the increased energy made available can be utilized in various ways some of which I will now describe.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, 1, 2, 3, and 4, represent the cylinders of a gas engine, and 5 is an expansion cylinder closed at the ends, the combustion chambers of the cylinders 2 and 3 being in connection with the upper part of the cylinder 5 through the medium of branch pipes 6, while the combustion chambers of the cylinders l and 4: are in connection with the lower part of the cylinder 5 through the medium of branch pipes 7 8 is any suitable air pump provided with outlet 9 which leads into a reservoir 10 within which latter the air is held in compressed condition owing to the action of the i pump.

11 are suitable valve controlled connections between the reservoir 1.0 and the combustion chambers of the cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 4.

During the working strokes of pistons within their cylinders, the valves controlling the supply of compressed air to the combustion chambers of these cylinders will be operated to effect the introduction of a predetermined amount of air into said chambers, the pressure within the reservoir 10 being, of course, greater than that Within the chambers, while the'temperaturc of the air is considerably lower than that of the expanding gases within these chambers. As soon as the comparatively cold air has been delivered within these combustion cham- ,orz

owing to the constantly increasingvolumes Since the piston in lhc expansion cyliuof the chambers, the introduction and exder receives impulses above and below the pansion ot the air will constantly supply these deficiencies in pressure, so that the expansion line (curve) will be maintained at constant pressure during a material part of the working stroke of the piston.

During the introduction of cold air within a cylinder, such as has been described, a substantially constant pressure will have been. maintained within such cylinder, and on the upward stroke of the piston of said cylinder the contents of such cylinder will expand into the expansion cylinder 5 above piston 16 therein the latter at that time be ing at the end oi its upward stroke, and the contents of such cylinder act on the pisston 16 the latter will be driven downwardly, thereby still furthc' assisting in the rave lution of the crank shaft. The admission oi the contents oi the cylinders 1, 2, 3-, and l, within the cylinder 5 is automatically controlled by means of suitable valves not shown herein. As the piston 16 moves downwardly it will expel. the previously admitted below the piston from another cylinder, while the next upward movement of this piston ill will expel the admitted from a subsequent cylinder. After the piston 16 has reached its lowest position, the piston of a combustion cylinder will be at the lowest limit of its working stroke, and on the upward movement of this last named piston the contents of said. cylinder will expand into the bottom of the cylinder 5 immediately below the piston 16 and will cause the latter to be forcibly elevated, thereby likewise further assisting in the revolution of the crank shaft.

The matterxir" valves between any of the parts is very ordinary and these valves have not been illustrated because they form no par; or this invention.

As the contents of the cylinders 1, 2-, and a, are expanded into the larger cylinder 5, the temperature and pressure will fall according to well known governing rules, and by proper determination of dimensions I can utilize the contents of the cylinders down to approximately the pres sure of the atmosphere, and the temperature of these contents will then have been reduced accordingly.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that, on account of the fact that the piston in the expansion cylinder has a area, it will move downward while the same from the expansion of the contents of combusi'ion iw'luulcrs it will be clear that such piston will have two working strokes to each revolution ol the crank shaft.

in liigs. l, 2, $3, and -"l-, the same scale has been used for pr ssurc and volume. Only the Pill live work has been shown in section. Therefore, it will be evident that the work during one stroke is found by adding the sectioned areas in l ies. and l. and, by dc ducting the sectionedarcas of Fig. 2, which is the compressor work, it is seen how the eiiicicncy ol {he motor is increased.

Referring particularly to Fig. I have shown a cylinder 17 that is elongated so that the piston 18 therein may have a. longer stokc, this particular coustruclion being; uiji izcd where the whole. expansion lakes pla e in the combustion cylinder itself, instead ol utilizing the expansion cylinder lo cooperate with a combustion chamber in enlarging the volume for such expansion. in this construriion shown at Fig. 7, during the working stroke of the piston, the cold air i. introduced within the combustirm chamber, giving the results hereinbctorc sct iorlh, and the 'l'ollowing upward stroke of the piston will cause the contents oi the combustion chamber to be ejected through any suitable exhaust; the next downward fitl'bl tion of the explosive mixture within the combustion chamber.

A cylinder like that illustrated at Fig. 7 may bectilircd as a Diesel type of motor, in which instance, after the exhaust stroke of the piston, as just described, the next downward stroke would draw into the cylhide" a. charge of fresh air, whilc the following; upward stroke of the cylinder would cause this air to be cxhauslcd until the piston reached the line a, whereupon the rest o1 he piston stroke would compress the air,thu. givi r to the latter a very high temperature, and while the air is thus compressed and is at this high temperature, the oil would be injected into the C(lllllll'thlfil air, and the combo; ion of the oil would create the usual expansion to cause the working stroke oi the piston, and during such stroke the cool air would be introduced into the combustion chamber. thus maintaining the pressure as lrlore described.

it will, therctori-i, be readily understood that EU invention applicable to cngincs opera 15;" on either the Otto or Diesel cycl. s.

l PlulZl1I-- "lhe inctluid of increasing the cllicicncy ot an internal-co1nbustion motorin which iabustion begins when the volume is tcrinined and the prc-c nnprcssi u at a mu, which consists in introducing air (c oi the piston will cfl'ect the introduc-.

erner? igniting the charge while under its maxi-' mum compression, -1I1tIOdl1ClIig 'relatlvely' cool air under pressure into-the work ng space of the cylinder after completion of combustion and during the working stroke of the piston, whereby the pressure within the cylinder willnot be decreased during the introduction of such .air'while {at the same time the cylinder contentslwill be cooled, and thereafter expanding the gases adiabatically to atmospheric pressure, or thereabout, for the performance of additional work.

- the cylinder during the introduction of such I air, and finally adiabatically expanding the cylinder contents to atmospheric pressure,

or thereabout, in the performance of other world, thereby increasing the expansion ratio and the efliciency of the motor.

4h The herein-described process of operating internal combustion engines of the Otto or Diesel type, which consists in introducing a highly compressed, relatively cool air into I theiworking spade of the cylinder after the charge is combusted and thereby maintaining the workin pressure within thc cylin- 'der during the introduction ofsuehair, and thereafter adiabatically expanding the cylinder contents to atmospheric pressure, or thereabout, in the performance of other work, thereby increasing the expansion ratio and the efiiciency of the motor.

5. The herein-described process of operating internal combustion engines working on the "Diesel or Otto cycle, which consists, after combustion of the fuel is completed, in maintaining the pressure substantially constant for a'predetermined time and also in increasing the expansion ratio, by introducing relatively cool compressed air into the working space of the cylinder for so long a time as pressure is to be maintained, and thereafter adiabatically expanding the cyl inder contents to atmospheric pressure, or there'about, in the performance of further 'vorlr. p

6. The method of increasing and utilizing the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines wherein combustion commences when the volume is predetermined and precompression at its maximum, which consists in increasing the normal expansion ratio by introducing air under pressure into the working space of the cylinder after combustion is completed and thereby maintaining the working pressure substantially constant' during such introduction of air, and thereafter expanding the mixed gas to atmospheric pressure, or thereabout, to accomplish further work.

7. The method of increasing the thermal efiiciency of internal combustion engines 7 wherein combustion commences when the volume is predetermined and pre compression at its maximum, which consists in introducing air under pressure into the working space ofthe cylinder after combustion is completed, and thereafter expanding the products of combustion adiabatically to atmospheric pressure, or thereabout, to accomplish further work, whereby the working pressure is maintained substantially constant during the introduction of such air and the ratio of expansion increased.

'8. 'lhe method of increasing the thermal efliciency of internal combustion engines wherein combustion commences when the volume is predetermined and the pre-co1npression at its maximum, which consists in introducing air under pressure into he cylinder after combustion is completed and during the working stroke, thereby maintaining the pressure substantially constant during the introduction of such air, and thereafter expanding the gas adiabatic-ally to atmospheric pressure, or thereabout, to further increase the efficiency of the motor.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

KNUD on LONY. Witnesses:

J. Sonrorrr,

W. E. SEELEY. 

